Laguna Honda Patient Gift Fund

The patients at Laguna Honda endure a life stripped down to the barest conditions. They are some of the city’s poorest residents – many are severely disabled or nearing the end of their lives. They live in the hospital’s open wards and own very little. Small comforts such as buying a soda from the hallway vending machine can be impossible with no money. That’s where the Patient Gift Fund comes in.

Donors give to improve the daily lives of the patients with such things as a candy bar, a pair of slippers, a small TV set or a bus trip to Crissy Field. But, using public records, the I-Team has confirmed the hospital administration has been spending ten of thousand of dollars on gourmet meals, airline tickets and other items – not on the patients.

Hospital Director Mivic Hirose ignored our phone calls for an interview. When we went to a town hall meeting to talk to her, the hospital’s Director of Community Relations Marc Slavin gave us some of the strangest treatment we’ve ever seen. We feature a clip in tonight’s report on ABC 7 News, but we wanted to stream the entire exchange to give you the full context. We’ll read every comment you leave.

Comments

How can the Deputy city attorney not stop or report this illegal activity? Guess it is hard when Adrianne Tong is at every party. Mr Herrera, time to straighten out this mess. Please investigate this elite group who are going unchecked!

Those who know anything about LHH know that it is remarkable place. If they throw a nice BBQ which patients, community and volunteers were invited to, more power to them. Those who work there care more for the residents and patients that any of you know. Disgruntled lazy MDs who should have been let go can blow off steam by tipping off incompetent blowhards like Noyes who fill airtime with nonstories, go right ahead. Meanwhile those who work hard for the residents will keep on doing so despite the noise coming from Noyes.

Marc is the same guy who the State Inspectors just questioned for attempting to cancel a doctors discharge order, the CEO left him in charge of the hospital and he went beyond his job duties as newsletter editor!

Noyes Sux: Now tell us why hospital administration dodged the questions for a week, had its PR flak try to intimidate a reporter and assault a camera operator over such a simple explanation that's 'much ado about nothing,' and only released a last minute damage control memo when they realized that this story wasn't going away. Thanks!

This story is very upsetting to me. They are stealing from the poorest, weakest and most fragile among us. What state or federal agency is supposed to oversee this? What agency can order an investigation? Please provide as much information as you might have including names and contact information for those that should be investigating this. I don't know who should be contacted at this point, but if you all do know, I can help light up their phones, email boxes and mailboxes.

DanB: I don't speak for the administration, but they definitely have better things to do with their precious time than to speak to true twerps like Noyes when they are busy with state inspectors, and getting ready to open a brand new hospotal, etc. Again, incompetent, lazy people who don't like being held to standards who can only falsely libel and take pot shots at those who sincerely try to better the residents' lives at LHH need to be exposed for what they are: misinformed incompetents and bitter lazy malingerers with way too much time on their hands. If they would only spend as much time trying to bettering life for the constituents than trying to sabotage the efforts of the competent and compassionate people who run LHH, than to protect their own self interests, this city would be a better place.

Dan B: LOL. Frantic? Lawyered up? You are ridiculoous. As per your other posts, You have no idea about what you speak, and in this case, have no idea who you are even speaking to. I do not work for the city, nor work for LHH, nor have I ever done so, or ever will do so. I have heard about what dead wood needs to be cut out there, and who actually does the work, who holds the staff to standards, who wants to improve the place, and who stands up to some of the MDs and other staff (not all) who are/were lazy or incompetent that have taken shelter working there. In any event, this is a nonevent and should be treated as such.

NS: While insults are fun to fling about (whee!), the truth will come out. As others have posted, this will not be the first time for either Slavin or Hirose to find themselves called on the carpet, both have a history of questionable professional conduct, something that is on full display in this video. People who do not have something to hide do not walk away from people asking questions, do not attempt to intimidate those people trying to ask them questions, and do not assault people holding cameras filming the interchange.

Furthermore, I find your implication that if any wrongdoing is discovered it should be forgiven (or at least overlooked) because some people "try to better the residents' lives" to be deplorable. Sadly, though, it is a common refrain. "I was only trying to do some good," while simultaneously attacking anyone who happens to point out that your actions are not, in fact, doing anyone much good, is SOP in human services.

Ah, well. So it goes. You have a good night now. I'm sure you sleep soundly.

wow I am so amazed that that Marc person kept touching and touching him. That was really really really weird. Made me really uncomfortable. There must be a policy about that sort of thing. Even after the news reporter said don't touch me. And why was the town hall meeting canceled? LHH has deputy sherifs or security right is there a reason why they were not involved if there was a problem.

This had to probably be one of the worst showings of a reporter’s shortcoming I have ever viewed. It makes Dan appear to be a homophobic paranoid socially inept person, one who came from a family that showed no affection & was uneasy with human touching. He definitely is not a person that any normal person would want to be around.
I think the story has a lot of merit to it & needs to be investigated further, but the whole story was a turnoff after watching his childish behavior.

Noyes: you should investigate the so called doctors that you quoted an perhaps 'tipped you off'. You're worried about a few thousand dollars... These and other so called MDs all collect six figure salaries and refuse to work for a living. They have an unbelievably Cush job, yet they can't get It together to write a goddamned ANNUAL history and physical? They refuse to take certain 'undesireables', they can't take admissions after a certain time because it likely interferes with tea time or their tee time? What the hell do us sf taxpayers get for our money when it comes to these bitter rabble rousers?? I for one am one taxpayer that wants MDs working for the city to actually work. I know what it means to work for a living. The real scandal is that it took this long to get rid of these freeloaders from the city payroll. Check it out, Noyes, do your homework, and find out who is feeding you lines before you come down on the wrong side of these issues.

It looks like that Marc person was trying to start a physical confrontation. He should be fired, brought up on charges, and both him and the hospital should be sued in civil court. The same goes for all his supervisors/managers/higher-ups. Any money obtained from the law suit can be donated to charity. This scene was reminiscent of cult-like organizations. This is very scary, and the city should be all over this case.

Most people don't realize it, but Form 990 tax returns of non-profit organizations are public record, and can be found on the web site for Guidestar, a great organization that publishes details on charitable organizations. I just looked at the most recently posted tax return for Laguna Honda Volunteers, and like many non-profits, it is sketchy and short of details. The disbursements for the gift fund are listed in a lump sum, but there is no documentation provided as to the use of the funds. There seems to be much in the shadows that could benefit from the light of day.

I can care less about if the money being spent in an improper way is true or not; it's the public relations guy who needs to get kicked-out fast. That kind of conduct is very unprofessional and especially for someone working on the taxpayer's dime.

I don't care how up front or how abrupt Dan Noyes's reporting is, nobody has the right to touch someone and continue doing it after being ordered to stop immediately. Making it worse is touching the camera person.

To all those screeching for a lawsuit: that is what is wrong about this country - litiginous idiots that clog up this country's courts with frivolous lawsuits and greedy unethical trial lawyers that will pursue them. I didn't see this guy grab Noyes' nonexistent gonads or punch him on the face even though he probably deserved it? What damages should he sue for? Ridiculous.....but would be the American way, to try to get some money without deserving it on a get rich quick trivial lawsuit with no merit.

Another sad day for laguna honda!The integrity, honesty and experience went out the window when Dr Katz decided to replace Mr Funk as CEO, because he refused to admit dangerous patients to LHH. The mayor should have listened to Ms Renne, instead he has continued to put inexperienced, incompetents in charge. Its not to late Mr Mayor, send Mivic back to SFGH and put Mr Funk back in his office! Support the residents and staff and do the right thing. Katz, time to retire like you promised 3 yrs ago.,!!!!

In my opinion based only on the video, Mr. Slavin seems to be lacking in even the most basic competencies for a PR Director. Who hired him and why can't the taxpayers do better than this for the $132K/year the position pays? Rumor is that his patron or patroness is so powerful that he is untouchable even by Dr. Katz.

It is amusing that certain posters, e.g FQ and TB are clearly 'inaiders' that are entrenched in LHH's past who long for the passive and obstructive laisez fairer Funk days cowing down to lazy MDs who refused to admit 'the 'undesireables' element' aka nonwhite people who are in need and long for the days when you could sit back and collect your city checks and sit on your arses.

I'm all for Mr Funk coming back to manage LHH. He is a great man and deeply missed. Whatever happened, happened quick then he was gone. I remember Roller Blading in the park and seeing Him and Head Nursing sitting in his car.
I really wanted to go up and thank him for his great service to these Patients. I'm actually educating myself to follow in his big shoe. You inspiring Mr. Funk